Denmark apologizes for abuse of people with disabilities – DW – 09
Dw.ComSep 12, 2023
Danish Minister of Social Affairs Pernille Rosenkrantz-Theil issued an apology on Monday for abuses carried out in state-run facilities, where thousands of children and adults with a wide range of disabilities were placed under "special care" between 1933 and 1980.
The admission of wrongoing under the Danish state, which reputedly failed in its duty of oversight, came in a meeting with a group of some 50 victims in the western city of Horsens.
While an apology for one of the most disgusting chapters in Danish history won't change the past, the decision to take responsibility for these vile transgressions is a step in the right direction to ensure that the country will never forget the ill-treatment experienced by thousands of Danes in state-run facilities.
It's outrageous how long it took for the Danish state to finally issue an apology for the violence, sexual abuse, and forced castration carried out in care homes. Though the facilities were closed in 1980, it took 43 years and two national investigations for an official admission of misconduct to be made.